Hair metal isn’t historically renowned for being music’s most clean-cut genre, oozing levels of bravado and ego that have yet to be matched since. ‘Ironic’ metal act Steel Panther have founded their career on parodying the sex-drugs-and-rock n roll lifestyle once perpetuated by acts like Motley Crue and Poison.
Although gaining their army of fans who would prefer to turn a blind eye to the more problematic parts of their satire, like all elements of irony there comes a time where lines a crossed.
In a recent interview with Comebackstage the band’s frontman, Michael Starr explained how the #MeToo movement is making it difficult for the band to perform their act. The lead singer went on to compare the band’s live show to a comedian who jokes about “having sex with girls”, saying that people who buy tickets to a Steel Panther show “know what to expect”.
“People who buy tickets to our shows know what to expect. And people that maybe come for the first time – if they don’t like it, they just leave. That’s just the way it is.”
“If you go see a comic, or even a magician, sometimes they have girls on stage. And comics make fun of having sex with girls and fucking them and all that kind of thing.”
The band, who’ve become known for tracks named ‘It Won’t Suck Itself’ and ‘Gold Digging Whore’ believe that there’s a “fine line” between “getting a massage and making a girl suck your dick than just saying hi to them”. He also stipulated that when asking for a woman to “show their boobs” they have the freedom to respond with a no, which is kindly asked of the interviewer. Glad he cleared that one up!
“We’re asking: ‘Hey, will you please show your boobs? You don’t have to.Here’s an example: [asks interviewer] Hey, will you show your boobs?” [Interviewer says ‘Nope’] “Boom! See how easy that was? Everybody’s happy.”
You can watch the entire interview here. (The #MeeToo question pops up at the 6:15 mark)
